Kadal Pookkal

Kadal Pookkal
Directed by	Bharathiraja
Produced by	Sivasakthi Pandiyan
Written by	Bharathiraja, R. Rathnakumar
Starring	Murali Manoj Sindhu Menon Umashankari Pratyusha
Music by	Deva
Cinematography	B. Kannan
Edited by	K. Pazhanivel
Production company	Sivasakthi Movie Makers
Release date	14 December 2001 (2001-12-14)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Kadal Pookkal (transl. Sea Flowers) is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Bharathiraja which stars Murali and Manoj Bharathiraja in the leading roles, with Sindhu Menon, Pratyusha and Umashankari in supporting roles. The film was delayed several times before release but opened to critical acclaim with Bharatiraja winning the National Film Award for Best Screenplay and Murali winning the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor.

Plot

Karuthayya (Murali) and Peter (Manoj Bharathiraja) are the best friends, sharing with each other their hopes and dreams. Karuthayya's plan to get his beloved sister Kayal (Umashankari) married elsewhere is thwarted when he learns that she is in love with Peter. He hears this from Uppili (Pratyusha), who has a soft corner for Karuthayya and vice versa. For his sister's sake, Karuthayya approaches Peter with the marriage proposal. A shocked Peter, who had all along shared an easy relationship with Kayal, consents for the sake of friendship. Peter then makes a counter proposal that Karuthayya marry his sister Maria. Peter however withholds the fact that Maria had been seduced by a man from the city and was carrying his child. Family honor being uppermost in his mind, friendship takes a back seat. But Peter does not know that Karuthayya was already aware of his sister's affair, though not of her pregnancy. Karuthayya, knowing his friend's aggressive nature, had not told Peter about the matter earlier. Karuthayya now throws the ball back in Peter's court, asking him to first get Maria's consent. Sure that Maria would not give her consent for the marriage. But to his shock Maria agrees.

Forced by her mother and Peter to toe the line, she had no other option. The two pairs get married. While Peter and Kayal are blissfully happy, Karuthayya and Maria have their own crosses to bear. A guilt-stricken Maria finally confesses to Karuthayya about Peter's treacherous act. A shocked and hurt Karuthayya goes to confront Peter. The man from the city appears on the scene. A furious Peter takes the unsuspecting youth on a boat ride, ties a stone on him, and dumps him into the sea. Karuthayya, who reaches the place, tries to save the guy.

Cast

• Murali as Karuthaiya
• Manoj Bharathiraja as Peter
• Sindhu Menon as Mariyam
• Pratyusha as Uppili
• Umashankari as Kayal
• Puthu Kavithai Jyothi as Peter's mother
• Shyam Ganesh as Fernandes
• Vaiyapuri
• Santhana Bharathi
• Sridhar as Susai

Production

The film set in the backdrop of sea and was shot completely in Nagercoil.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack was composed by Deva and lyrics were written by Vairamuthu. Chennai Online called it "A lovely sea breeze by Deva".

No.	Song	Singers	Lyrics
1	Aadu Meyuthe	Sathya, Krishnaraj	Vairamuthu
2	Alai Alai	Unni Menon, Swarnalatha, Srinivas
3	Ogama I	Malaysia Vasudevan, Ganga
4	Ogama II	Deva, Ganga
5	Paithiyamaanene	Harini, P. Unnikrishnan
6	Siluvaigale	Anuradha Sriram, Unni Menon

Critical reception

Rediff wrote that director "shows no sign of being able to change his storytelling style to match the times". Chennai online wrote "it is a well-crafted script, the tale well told, the narration moving smoothly, and the scenes emotion-charged." Thiraipadam wrote "The movie is not as good as movies from Bharathiraja's golden era".